Novalis & Friedrich von Hardenberg 
The Birth of Novalis 
Friedrich von Hardenberg’s Journal of 1797, with Selected Letters and Documents

Friedrich von Hardenberg, who later became known as the poet Novalis, kept a journal between April and July 1797 that captured his moods, thoughts, and observations following the death of his fifteen-year-old fiancée Sophie von Kühn and his dearly loved younger brother Erasmus. The journal’s short, day-to-day entries allow a frank and candid glimpse into the inner life of the maturing poet, and are complemented by selections from Hardenberg’s letters. Taken together, and read in conjunction with the fragments written before, during, and shortly after this period of time, the journal and letters shed light on a process of self-discovery during which Hardenberg became convinced of his poetic vocation and acknowledged this conviction in an act of self-christening, as the poet Novalis.

Table of Content

Introduction

“Reading” Novalis

The Meeting with Sophie von Kühn

The Journal of 1797 and Selected Letters

Selected Letters and Documents: 1792–1797

Journal: April 18–July 6, 1797

Autobiographical and Biographical Testimonies

Friedrich von Hardenberg: Excerpt from a Letter to Finance Minister von Oppel, 1800

Karl von Hardenberg: Biography of His Brother Novalis, 1802

August Cölestin Just: Friedrich von Hardenberg, Assessor of Salt Mines in Saxony and Designated Department Director in Thuringia, 1805

Ludwig Tieck: “Biography of Novalis, ” 1815

Timeline of Events

Notes
Select Bibliography
Index

About the author

Bruce Donehower is Lecturer in the University Writing Program at the University of California at Davis. He is the author of
Miko, Little Hunter of the North.